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Gaborik nets game-winner in OT to lift Wild over Blues

Dec 1, 2007 - 5:11 AM By Brian Hall PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ST. PAUL , Minnesota (Ticker) -- Marian Gaborik scored 2:21 into overtime to lift the Minnesota Wild to a 3-2 triumph over the St. Louis Blues on Friday.

Brian Rolston added a goal and an assist and Niklas Backstrom made 22 saves for his 11th victory of the season for the Wild, who extended their winning streak to three games.

The loss was just the second for St. Louis in its past nine contests.

Gaborik, who has netted five goals in his last five games, picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and skated straight toward goaltender Manny Legace. The 25-year-old Slovakian unleashed a wrist shot that beat Legace to the stick side for the game-winning tally.

"It is coming, so hopefully I can keep it going as long as I can," Gaborik said. "Now we are playing at home, and it is important to get these wins. Of course, (Pavol Demitra) is back, always helps the team. Hopefully, we can get going and be better than we were tonight."

"It's an irresponsible play by me," said St. Louis' Lee Stempniak, whose turnover led to Gaborik's game-winner. "I heard (Keith Tkachuk) behind me call for it. I just didn't take a look. I just assumed he was on the outside and then going to cut across. And against those guys, you can't leave a drop pass when you're not looking."

After the Wild opened the season with a 7-0-1 mark, injuries and sluggish play saw their seven-point lead in the Northwest Division disappear and dropped them to third place. But with Gaborik and Demitra returning to good health, they have won four of six and appear to be back on track.

The win pulls Minnesota even with idle Vancouver for first in the division with 30 points.

"It is nice to have (Gaborik and Demitra) back in the lineup," Backstrom said. "But the biggest thing for us now, we know how we need to play to win games. Doesn't matter who we have in the lineup, we know how we should play and how we can play. That is a big thing for us."

Defenseman Brent Burns opened the scoring at 10:05 of the first period. With Minnesota on a two-man advantage, Rolston controlled a pass from Demitra with his skate, collected the puck and sent it across the ice to Burns, who fired a wrister past Legace.

Rolston doubled the lead just nine seconds into the second period.

Minnesota won the opening faceoff and Rolston drilled a slap shot from the left faceoff circle past Legace for his eighth goal of the season, snapping a 10-game drought - his longest as a member of the Wild.

"It was nice to get that goal," Rolston said. "Obviously, I haven't scored in a few games, more than a few - understatement. It is just one of those things. We think they are going to come in bunches now. It is just one of those things, you just have to try and not get rattled by it.

"It is one of the biggest things in sports, to stay confident while those things are going on."

Stempniak got the Blues on the board when he scored his second goal of the season at 5:22 of the second. The right wing skated into the offensive zone, went between two defenders and fired the puck high past Backstrom to cut the deficit to 2-1.

St. Louis tied the game with 8:42 left in the session after a nifty give-and-go. Brad Boyes carried the puck over the blue line and dropped it between his legs to Paul Kariya, who gave it back to the driving Boyes, who beat Backstrom for his team-leading 15th goal of the season.

"I liked our puck possession," Blues coach Andy Murray said. "I thought we had the puck an awful lot. When we have the puck, that means their good players don't have it, guys like Demitra, Gaborik and (Eric) Belanger. I thought we played a good game. I thought we gave them all they could handle."

The Blues had a chance to pull ahead with five minutes left in the third. With the team shorthanded, Jamal Mayers pounced on a turnover and went in alone on Backstrom but was denied as the netminder got his left pad down to block the low shot.

Legace finished with 23 saves for St. Louis.